Artist: ChengOu Yu

ChengOu Yu, NORTH CAROLINE

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BIO

Originally from China. ChengOu Yu received his BA in Ceramic Design from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute (China) in 2012 and his Advanced Diploma with honor in Crafts and Design - Ceramics from Sheridan College (Canada) in 2015. In 2020, he graduated from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University with an MFA in ceramic art. He is currently a Lecturer and 3D Technician in Ceramics at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Yu has exhibited his work at numerous venues in the United States, Europe, and Asia and has work in public collections including the Alfred ceramic art museum Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, NY; Liling Ceramic Valley Museum, Hunan, China, and Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China

His trans-national experience impacts his roles as an artist. His attention in assumptions and representations between cultures reflected on the works. His interest in pottery form points to interest in iconography in general. Through the construction of iconic objects, he exams how the encounter of things under different circumstances changes our understanding and how does culture differences, life experience, becomes part of the cognitive process.

 

Artist Statement

The traditional pottery form has a significant influence on my studio practice. I investigate the notions of perspective and distortion through my sculptural work. My work is the reflection of my experiences  living and traveling in different countries and cultures, while the interpretation of the tradition in my culture continuously shifts.

I translate into form these moments into spaces, as I imagine how they have been processing in my mind. I think about movement, how a thing moves in space and the kind of gesture or form it creates, capturing the trajectory of it. This action is a self-reflection of my own life experience. The imagery is distorted, blurred, even transformed, but the root remains clear.

Working with clay allows my mind to flow between those imaginations while my hand is engaging with the material. I arrange the objects in a specific manner in space to evoke the same feeling that I had when I am making the pieces. Shaping the material and the concept, I create work that describes my feeling of time and space, the movement of the my reality, the trajectory sometimes hidden.

 

EDUCATION

2020

- Master of Fine Arts, CeramicsNew York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY                       

2015                       

- Advanced Diploma with Honors in Crafts & Design – CeramicsSheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Oakville, ON 

2012

- Bachelor’s Degree of Arts, Ceramic Design ProgramJingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China

 

EXHIBITIONS

 

Solo

2021                      

- Reconciliation Reflection Transformation, Bredin-Lee Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2020                      

-The Consequences of Objects, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred, NY (canceled due to pandemic)

2018                      

- Imprint Interchange Implicature, JJ Studio, Toronto, ON

 

Group  

2022                      

Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale, Art Museum of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Jingdezhen, China

- New Arrivals, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Mo2021 

- Journeys (Co-Curated), Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO                               

-Teabowl National 2021, The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO                               

- CLAY+, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA                               

- Reset, Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO (upcoming)The

- Ceramics Forum: 10 Years Towards the Dialogue, 2021 NCECA Virtual

- ConferenceExquisite Forms III, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL

- Here, There, Now, Then: In between Journeys (Co-Curated), Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery, University of Dallas, Irving, TX2020                      

- Double Take, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum. Alfred, NY                               

- In Through the Out Door: MFA Alumni 2020, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery & Robert C. Turner Gallery, Alfred,

- NYCup: The Intimate Object XVI, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL

- 28^th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National (virtual exhibition)

- 2020 NCECA Juried Student Exhibition, Richmond, VA (virtual exhibition, physical exhibition canceled due to pandemic)

- The GVSU Ceramics Forum: 10 Years Towards the Dialogue, in conjunction with NCECA & the Grand Valley State Ceramics Forum, River Fox Realty, Richmond, VA (canceled due to pandemic)

2019                      

- Kilns of Alfred: Transactions with Fire, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, NY

- SUNY Albany Student Art Show, SUNY Plaza, Albany, NY                               

- Inter-Disciplinary, Robert C. Turner Gallery, Alfred, NY

2017                      

- Classics Revived - International Contemporary Ceramic Design Invitational Exhibition, Liling Ceramics Valley Museum, Liling, China  

- Craft Community of Canada - One of a Kind Show, Toronto, ON

2016                      

- Everyday Lighting, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON

- Materialize, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON                                - CHEERS @ Medalta, Medalta, Yuill Gallery, Medicine Hat, Alberta                               

- Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON2015                      

- Simple Cup Show, KOBO Gallery, Seattle, WA                               

- Grand Opening, JJ Studio, Toronto, ON                               

- Food For Thought - Set the Table, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON                               

- Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON 

- Sheridan-Tyler Collaborative Exhibition, Sheridan College, Oakville, ON                               

- WUNDERKAMMER, Sheridan Craft & Design Graduate Exhibition, Super Wonder Gallery, Toronto, ON                               

- Graduate Exhibition, Sheridan College: Oakville, ON.

- DOUBLE TAKE, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON

- Sheridan-Tyler Collaborative Exhibition - Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia 

- SLOW BURN, Sheridan College, Oakville, ON

2014

- TOMORROW, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, London, ON

- INTIMATE/IMMEDIATE, Sheridan College, ON

2012                      

- Graduate Thesis Exhibition, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China                               

- Outing Graduation Exhibition, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China

2011                      

- Experimental Ceramic Art Exhibition, CiChang gallery, Sculpture Factory, Jingdezhen, China

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2021 - Current 

- Full-Time Lecturer in Ceramics, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

2020                      

- Instructor of Ceramics, Belger Crane Yard Studio, Kansas City, MO 

- Teaching Assistant, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (The Wheel-Thrown Form, Sophomore Level, Spring  2020) 

2019                      

- Teaching Assistant, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Business of Art: Professional Practices, Fall 2019) 

- Teaching Assistant, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Design!Ceramic, Spring 2019 – Co-taught with Jonathan Hopp) 

2018                      

- Instructor of Record, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Beginning Ceramics, Fall 2018) 

2016 - 2018         

- Instructor of Ceramics, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON 

 

ARTIST LECTURES/ WORKSHOPS

2022                    

2022 Invited Guest Lecture, Fraser Valley Pottery Guild, Surrey, BC, Canada

2021                     

Artist Talk and Demo, University of Dallas, Irving, TX

2020                      

Invited Guest Critic, KCAI Ceramics Junior and Senior Critiques, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

2019                      

Invited Guest Lecturer, East Asian Design and Material Culture, Alfred University, Alfred, NY

Designer and Presenter at Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2019                       Studio Assistant, Anne Currier, Alfred, NY

2017                       Studio Technician, Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Oakville, ON, Canada

2016                       Studio Assistant, Janet Macpherson, Toronto, ON

2015                       Studio Assistant, Jess Cooper, Toronto, ON

2014                       Studio Assistant, Linda Sormin, Toronto, ON

                                Studio Assistant, Steven Heinemann, Toronto, ON

                                Studio Assistant, Lindsay Montgomery, Toronto, ON

2012                       Studio Assistant, Sin-Ying Ho, Jingdezhen, China

 

RESIDENCIES

2020-present      

Red Star Residency Programs, Belger Crane Yard Studio, Kansas City, MO

2015-2018           

Harbourfront Centre Craft & Design Studio: Ceramics, Toronto, ON

2017                      

Liling Ceramic Valley Museum, Liling, China

 

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

Liling Ceramic Valley Museum

Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute

 

AWARDS & HONORS

2021                      

Third Place, Teabowl National 2021, national juried exhibition at The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2020                      

Form & Function Award, 28^th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National

2016                      

Jenny Y.Y. Tam Ceramic Residency Award, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON

2015                      

Best of Ceramics, Aaron Milrad and Brenda Coleman Award for Toronto Outdoor

Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON         

The Bruce Cochrane Clay Club Award, Oakville, ON

2014                      

FUSION Community Involvement Award, Oakville, ON

2012                      

The Silver Award, School of Ceramic Arts 2012 Outing graduation exhibition,

Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, Jingdezhen, China

2009                      

The Second Prize Scholarship, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen

Merit Student Awards, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China

The Third Prize Scholarship, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China

 

PUBLICATIONS

2020                     Harmony & Contrast, Ceramic Monthly, September 2020 issue, p.45

 

MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

2015-present       NCECA

2015-2018            Craft Ontario

2013-2015             Sheridan Ceramics Clay Club member and fundraiser